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Hurricane Katrina

House narrowly passes refinery bill amid heated debate

By wire services
Published October 8, 2005

WASHINGTON - The House on Friday approved legislation that seeks to spur construction of oil refineries - the first major congressional response to rising energy prices and tight supplies following Hurricane Katrina.

The bill passed 212-210 after House GOP leaders extended the roll call from a scheduled five minutes to about 40 minutes to round up the votes. Partisan tensions boiled over, with Democrats shouting "Shame! Shame! Shame!" to protest the prolonged vote.

The measure was approved after the bill's GOP sponsors dropped the most contentious provision - relaxing antipollution rules for refinery projects - after some Republicans threatened to vote against the bill.

The measure faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

The Gasoline for America's Security Act would direct the president to designate sites for new refineries and streamline the issuance of permits. It also would limit the different gasoline blends produced to meet clean-air rules, an effort to make it easier to move fuel from one region to another during supply shortages.

The measure comes after Hurricane Katrina knocked out refineries in the Gulf Coast region, where about half of the U.S. refining capacity is located. The loss of those refineries has driven up gas prices and focused attention on the vulnerability of the nation's energy infrastructure.

Whether the legislation will be enough to spur the building of the first U.S. refinery in 30 years is uncertain. Currently, the nation's 148 refineries operate near capacity producing about 17-million barrels of crude oil a day.

NEW ORLEANS - State authorities are investigating allegations that New Orleans police officers took scores of cars from a dealership, including 41 new Cadillacs, as the city descended into anarchy from Hurricane Katrina.

"It is a very, very active investigation," said Kris Wartelle, spokeswoman for Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti. "We expect developments quickly."

Dealership president Doug Stead said a state investigator called him after hearing police were driving in the cars.

The pilfered cars included 88 new Cadillacs and Chevrolets, 40 used cars, 52 customers' cars, and three of Stead's family cars. "We put the loss on new cars at $3.7-million," Stead said. "The used cars ran another $900,000."

When reports first surfaced that officers may have taken the cars, New Orleans police Superintendent Warren Riley said it was not considered looting because the officers patrolled in the cars.

KATRINA'S STRENGTH: Government hurricane specialists said Friday they are investigating whether Hurricane Katrina was actually a Category 3 storm, not a 4, when it struck the Gulf Coast. Analyzing the hurricane's strength has been made more difficult because instruments used to measure the wind failed or were swept away when the storm hit Aug. 29.

LA. TOLL TOPS 1,000: Louisiana's official death toll from Hurricane Katrina passed 1,000 on Friday. The state reported that state officials and local coroners had recovered 1,003 bodies - 15 more than the total reported Thursday.

[Last modified October 8, 2005, 01:27:10]